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Saturday, September 11, 2010

Perfection in this Life

I don’t have to be perfect to know that I could be. In this world of too big and too small, too fast and too slow, too rich and too poor…I still know that I am capable of perfection. Just not here.

Have you ever watched a flower unfold? My husband and I was invited over to our neighbors house one evening right as the sun was going down to watch the many buds growing slowly uncurl and then burst open into a beautiful, blooming flower. It was like birth. Something so small and incapable of much making it’s appearance to the world and becoming something beautiful to be admired and loved. It will grow and produce and then it will slowly begin to wither, losing it’s beautiful petals and then quickly fading away.

Just like life. Our lives. The lives of our grandmothers and grandfathers, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. The lives that will be our children’s and grandchildren’s. The cycle of life never ends.

But not without leaving something behind. Tiny seeds will fall and in the future, those tiny bits of nothing will turn into beautiful flowers just like the ones before it. Each flower will take bits of the last with it, it’s color and smell and attributes.

Just like us. We are constantly absorbing bits and pieces of the world around us. We learn from our parents and grandparents, our brothers and sisters and friends. We are constantly fed that there is a certain way of being and if we don’t conform to this, our lives will be unfulfilled and empty. It’s almost as if we think that if we don’t follow their lead, we will miss the meaning of life.

Sometimes adapting these attributes are a good thing: My father is honest. My brother never waivers from what he believes. My grandfather was a hard worker and my grandmother was a prayer-warrior. Other times they’re best left untouched: My mother was a manipulator. My sister constantly lives in fear. My best friend will never admit when she’s wrong.

In this life of constant influence, we have to pick who we will be, who we want to be around us and what attributes are best adapted or discarded. The lives of our children, our grandchildren and those after us will depend on our decisions. Our daughters will respect themselves as much as we do, our sons will learn confidence from watching their fathers. The future weighs constantly on our shoulders and although we can not perfect ourselves in this life, God will not fail to one day show us where we have failed when we could have succeeded.

‘Be strong in the Lord and never give up hope. You’re going to do great things, I already know. God’s got His hand on you so don’t live life in fear. Forgive and forget but don’t forget why you’re here. Take your time to pray. These are the words I would say.’